Foil-type coating materials composed of a metal fabric coated with a fluorinated polymer are known in the art.
Due to their relatively low friction coefficients, such materials are sometimes designated "self-lubricating" and are used, for example, for making liners for sleeves or bearings, particularly for use in automobile door hinges and for guiding sliding shafts.
Thus reinforced, the fluorinated material has better dimensional stability, mainly because the metal reinforcement considerably limits creep of the fluorinated polymer.
However, these foil-type materials usually have the substantial drawback that, when they are cut, the metal strands at the cut edge of the foil tend to fray, weakening the edge of the foil.
Moreover, under certain application conditions, the fluorinated polymer creeps despite the presence of the metal reinforcement.
FR-A-2 445 210 teaches a method for fabricating a foil-type material having a metal lattice structure, particularly of expanded metal, coated on each face with a strip of polytetrafluoroethylene.
This method calls for hot-pressing the assembly thus formed in a mold to reach a pressure of between 20 and 200 kg/cm.sup.2.
However, such pressures have proved inadequate for obtaining a strong, reliable material.
In addition, according to this method, the time the assembly remains in the heated mold is approximately two hours, which is unsuitable for mass production of the material, especially as the aforesaid document calls for cooling the material under pressure when it leaves the mold.